Another Journey Begins
by gvabhirami
Summary: Follow James, Albus and Lily Potter at Hogwarts. Set in James' fifth year and includes most of the Potter-Weasley family! Please review! Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
1. Back at the Platform

'You know, I miss Hogwarts.' Ginny Potter told her husband as she stood facing the steam billowing red engine of the Hogwarts Express at platform nine and three quarters.

'The castle, the lake, the food at the Great Hall.' She continued. Harry took her hand in his and met her eyes, 'I definitely miss the food.' he joked, narrowly missing her elbow as she made to hit him on the stomach, he hurriedly added, ', but nothing beats the treacle tart you make every Sunday.'

She smiled at him. Harry James Potter was everything she wished for. In all her 16 years of marriage with Harry, she had never once felt that he wasn't right for her. He was perfect for her, as she was for him, and with their three amazing children, James, Albus and Lily, their family was whole and complete. At least their immediate family was. Everyone knew the Potters were related to the Weasleys. Ginny had been a Weasley before she was married, and she had seven brothers, five of whom were married and had children. It was known fact that it was impossible to get the names of every person in the family tree right, because there were just too many of them. Such a close knitted group they were that their children, who still attended Hogwarts, had family breakfast every Sunday, where it'd feel like any other Christmas or summer holiday, and they were having breakfast back at Grandma and Grandpa Weasley's house.

'Mum!' Ginny was shaken out of her reverie and looked down to see her beautiful daughter staring at her. 'I'll miss you!' Ginny smiled and bent down to give Lily a hug. Lily was dearest to her of the three, although she loved all of her three children equally. Lily reminded Ginny mostly of herself when she was younger. Overshadowed by the achievements of her brothers, entrapped in the overprotective cocoon spun by her loving cousins, and with that blazing determination in her eyes to prove that she was capable. Lily's eyes were the same shade of brown as her mothers and within them; one could see the burning passion that captivated her father when he first saw Ginny.

'I'll miss you too Lils. I'll write every week, and I want to know all about your adventures with Hugo.' Lily held back her tears. She was strong and confident, like her mother, who she adored. She then turned to face her dad who bent down to give her a peck on the cheek.

'I love you Lils. Take care, alright? And help me keep an eye on your brothers, won't you?' Harry smiled as he looked at his daughter's face. She was an exact replica of Ginny, from her fiery hair to her soft, fair skin, and eyes. He saw Ginny's fervour and passion in those eyes and smiled to himself. Any man, who deserved his daughter, would be as lucky as he was.

'We don't need taking care of now, do we Al?' James stopped by to give his mother a hug. Behind him stood Albus, a carbon copy of Harry himself. Albus smiled at his brother's comment and gave his father a hug.

'Be good James, I don't want another letter from Neville saying you put a toe out of line again.' Ginny warned as James now turned to hug his father, and Harry was reminded instantly of Molly Weasley warning Fred and George so very long ago.

'But mum! I haven't even gotten into half as much trouble as Fred or Roxanne! They're both in the running for most number of detentions earned in the history of Hogwarts!' Ginny smiled. What more could one expect from George's darling twins.

'Oi! The train's going to move on any second!' a familiar voice called out from Harry's left.

'Uncle Ron!' the three children screamed as Ronald Weasley approached them. He was wearing a long black travelling cloak and was hand in hand with his wife, Hermione. Their two children, Hugo and Rose walking behind them. After much hugging, Ron urged all the children to get on the train.

'You don't want to miss the train now, or else, err, you might end up doing something stupid to get to school on time.' Ron said sheepishly.

'Yeah, like try to ride a flying car to school.' Hermione added, grinning.

'Dad, did you really do that? Wow, you never mentioned,' Hugo sprouted.

'Get on the train come on!' Ron cut across, sharing a sheepish grin with Harry.

As the children made their way to get on the scarlet express, steam now billowed in earnest and the train manager got ready to ring the bell for departure, the adults stood on the platform, momentarily staring at their children. Each of them undoubtedly reminded of their own journeys on the express so long ago.

As the train began to move, James stared out his cabin window at his mother, father, uncle and aunt. He was going to miss them. The train began to gather speed and the platform vanished, replaced by plush, green farmland under an overcast sky. The cabin door opened and James grinned.

'Hey man, how was your summer?' Rio walked in and sat down opposite James. Rio was James' best friend at Hogwarts, and a fellow Gryffindor quidditch player. He was extremely good-looking and both him and James had their fair share of screaming girls running after them to get asked out for a Hogsmeade weekend. Rio was muggle-born and his father was Japanese, so that explained Rio's dark black hair and small eyes. But the altogether effect was quite mesmerizing.

'It was great! We had a sort of family trip to India, and it was pretty awesome. Indian wizards really know how to live man. You should see their houses, all gold plated, with pet elephants. Spectacular really. The best part was when we all wanted to try out living in a muggle hotel, Hyatt it's called, in New Delhi. It has the most awesome food, and some of the prettiest girls I've ever seen.' James grinned.

'Sounds awesome! Mum and Dad brought me to Scotland. We had a good laugh eating and travelling, oh and we got to see the Lock Ness Monster. Though mum still firmly believes it was a floating log.' Rio stared out the window.

'Where's Rhea anyways? She should be here by now.' James looked around the cabin as if Rhea would materialize in front of him.

'She's in the prefect's cabin man, didn't she write to tell you? No surprise she got the badge though.'

'Oh yeah, I forgot.' James remembered getting a letter delivered by Rhea's owl, Mercury, while they were having a picnic at Amber fort in India. 'No surprise she got it, definitely. She's too much of a rule-follower for our own good.' He suppressed a grin. 'Any idea who else got made prefect?'

'I think the other Gryffindor prefect is Justin Thomas. Good bloke, he definitely deserves it.' Rio smiled and stood up to remove something from his trunk. At that moment, the cabin door slid open and a girl with soft blond hair and mysterious grey eyes walked in.

'Rhea!' James stood up to hug his other best friend. 'How've you been?'

Rhea smiled as she hugged Rio next. She had missed these boys. 'I've been fine thank you, James. Summer was spent as usual at the sodden manor. I wish my family was a little more fun you know.' She responded as she took a seat next to Rio. James stared back into Rhea's face. She had never been happy with her family. Rhea's family was extremely wealthy. The Walkers were part of the bloodline descending from Grogan Stump, the first ever Minister for Magic and they were one of the few pureblood families to remain. They were big believers in decorum and social propriety, hardly something you could call fun and everything James' uncle Ron would call 'snooty'. But Rhea was different; she had a friendly nature and a happy-go-lucky spirit. She was fiercely loyal to her friends and was kind and loving, which made it difficult for her to hate anyone.

'Guess who's been made head girl?' Rhea asked, looking at James.

'Lucy.' James said, completely uninterested. 'Grandma Molly practically crashed into our house after Lucy got the letter. She was completely hysterical. She went around screaming, second head girl in the family!'

'Oh yeah, I forgot Dominique was head girl two years ago. How is Dominique now? I read that article on Witch Weekly, stardom's doing her well.' Rhea added with a grin.

'Yeah, she's doing great. She's on tour right now, with Donavan Tremlett, you know, the son of Donaghan Tremlett, the bassist of the Weird Sisters?'

'That's awesome! I love Tremlett's voice! Victoire was on Witch Weekly too! She did a fashion shoot for Malkina, she looks gorgeo-'

'Do you have that magazine on you?' Rio interrupted Rhea, with a sheepish grin on his face. James had to stop himself from scoffing by biting on his knuckles.

'You don't still have a crush on Victoire do you?' Rhea asked him suspiciously.

'Of course not, I just wanted to read that article on Dominique.'

'Yeah right,' James mumbled, but Rio had heard him.

'Okay, but so what, I mean, she _is_ Miss Wizarding World, and she's so incredibly hot and-'

'Taken?' James added, grinning broadly. 'Teddy and her have been an item since forever! I still remember how I caught them snogging on the platform back in second year.'

James and Rhea laughed as Rio's ears turned red and he turned back to look out the window, looking slightly dejected.

As the Hogwarts express trudged on, the weather grew steadily gloomier, and at about noon, it started to rain. The heavy raindrops pattering on the windows muffled the incessant chattering arising from the cabins and the sound of the lunch trolley approaching.

As the trolley came into view outside their cabin door, Albus stood up to get lunch.

'What do you lot want?' He asked around at his companions. They included Rose, his cousin, Georgiana Walsch and Matthew Havens, fourth years from Ravenclaw, Dianne Ignatio, another fourth year from Gryffindor and Kenneth Whitehorn, his best friend, a Gryffindor chaser and grandson of Devlin Whitehorn, the founder of the Nimbus racing broom company.

There were murmurs of 'Cauldron Cake' and 'Pumpkin Pasty' and Albus bought some Liquorice wands and sugar quills for himself. As he sat back down and passed everything around, he noticed Kenneth staring intently at Rose. Albus turned around and looked at his cousin. She was sitting scrunched up at the corner of the cabin, a book open in her hands, and with the face of someone who was absolutely enjoying every word she read. Albus smiled. There was no denying that his favourite cousin was not good looking. She had inherited her mother's brown hair and eyes. Rose was extremely clever, always the top of their year and she had a whole queue of boys waiting to ask her out. Yet, she never showed the slightest interest in boys. She always hung out with her group of friends, and with Fred, Louis and James playing the part of watchful elder brothers, no boy had the courage to approach her and ask her out. Albus turned back to Kenneth, who was slowly tearing off the wrapper on his Pumpkin Pasty, and stealing glances at Rose when he thought no one was looking. 'Well,' Albus thought, 'at least James, Fred and Louis would approve of Kenneth.' He suppressed a grin as Dianne called out to him.

'Hey Al, did you see this? Your mum's article on the Prophet is incredible. She really thrashed the Warton Warts in her latest game review.' Dianne passed Albus the copy of the Daily Prophet she was reading. His eyes scanned across the article on the latest quidditch match between The Thornby Thorns and Warton Warts, which turned out to be a fiasco. The Warton Warts captain had purposefully smashed his beaters bat onto the Thorns keeper's head, sending him falling fifty feet down. No one was killed, but the keeper was lying in 's in a coma with a disfigured skull. Albus remembered his mother coming home after the match, furious at how people turn to the lowliest methods to win a game. His dad had to pour her two glasses of firewhisky before she finally calmed down. As he continued reading his mother's article, in which she called the Wart's captain a 'troll with a quaffle for a head.', the cabin door opened and Louis stuck his head inside. Dianne immediately stopped fidgeting and fixed her eyes on a stray raindrop on the window.

'Hey Al, Rose! Hey Ken, could I borrow you for a minute? I want to get started on some basic quidditch planning with the team. Care to come down to my cabin?' Louis was the heartthrob of every witch at school. He was tall and muscular, with silvery blond hair and bright blue eyes. It was no surprise that he had two gorgeous women for sisters. He was also the quidditch captain, which meant he had to run for cover after almost every match, or risk being trampled to death by a stampede of screaming girls.

'Sure thing Louis.' Kenneth stood up and after a fleeting look at Rose, who had merely nodded when Louis greeted her, and had her eyes still glued to her book, he left.

Rio and James met Louis and Kenneth along the corridors, and Louis gave Rio a friendly pat on the back. 'How've you been man? Long time no see!' James and Rio greeted Kenneth with similar enthusiasm, but James noticed that Kenneth didn't have his usual charm or carefree manner. He looked like something was bothering him, and James made a mental note to check with Albus. The four of them followed Louis into his cabin, which consisted of the rest of the quidditch team. The Gryffindor quidditch team was definitely a force to be reckoned with at Hogwarts. Under the guidance of Louis, who took advice from his uncle Charlie, the Gryffindor team worked together perfectly, and their manoeuvres were set to win them the quidditch cup every year. The team consisted of three chasers, James, Kenneth, and Rosina Spinnet- a sixth year with curly brown hair and a friendly face, two beaters, Fred Weasley, James' notorious cousin and Suzanna Fehling- a fourth year with surprising strength for a girl, the seeker, Rio and the keeper and captain, Louis.

Louis kept them for about half an hour, talking about his latest game plans and asking them for their opinions. They then spent some time talking about their summers and catching up. As it reached two in the afternoon, the rain was still pouring and James and Rio decided to get back to their cabin, where Rhea was alone. Kenneth got up to leave as well, and walked back to his cabin, which was on the way to James'. James took another look at Kenneth, he wasn't used to his silence. James stopped by Kenneth's cabin to say hello to Albus.

'Hey Al! What's up little bro?'

Albus looked up, his ears turning slightly red at being called 'little bro'. Nonetheless, he was happy to see his brother and grinned back.

'How was your quidditch talk?'

'Well… Oh wait I can't tell you here, there are Ravenclaws around.' James grinned at Rose who stared back at him with a pout.

'What's that supposed to mean James? I'm family!' she cooed.

'But you're also a Ravenclaw, and Louis would murder me if I let slip his new tactics to other teams.' With that, James smiled at his cousin and closed the door.

Back at their cabin, James and Rio found Rhea reading. As they sat back in, she clicked her tongue at them.

'What took you so long?' she demanded.

'Sorry Rhea, we got caught up sharing stupid jokes. You know Fred, he's always cracking us up.' They looked sincerely apologetic and Rhea smiled.

'Anyway, you never told us who the rest of the prefects are in our year.' Rio asked Rhea.

'Well, there's Justin and I from Gryffindor, Karina Rogers and Blake Jacob from Ravenclaw, Joanna Abbott and Larry Parks from Hufflepuff, and,' she paused, 'Francesca and Francesco Parkinson from Slytherin.' There was a sharp intake of breath at the last two names.

'No way!' James exclaimed, 'those cows?'

'Shh. It's not much of a surprise really. I mean who else do you know who's as much of a bootlicker as Francesca? And her twin, he isn't much better is he? I always knew they'd get the post eventually.'

'Yeah, but even so, why them?'

The rest of the journey was spent complaining about the Parkinson twins and as the rain stopped and the sky grew a dark velvety blue, the train began to slow down. 'We'd better get changed.' James motioned to Rio, and the two of them picked up their robes and left the cabin, so that Rhea could change inside. Just as they were leaving, Roxanne, Fred's twin sister charged in, looking disconcerted. Roxanne had shoulder length dark braids, and the same thin and tall stature like her twin, Fred. Both of them had their father's brown eyes.

'Those ruddy boys won't leave so I can change in there. I can't believe my brother's supporting them, seriously.' She looked at Rhea, 'you don't mind if I change in here do you?'

Rhea smiled, 'Sure, Rox.' Rhea always liked Roxanne. Fred and Roxanne never failed to lighten up any event, and Rhea could always count on them to cheer her up. After they changed, James and Rio began unloading their trunks from the top shelves and placed them near the door. The train came to a halt at Hogsmeade station, and James, Rhea, and Rio got off. A chilly wind was blowing at the station and the floor was damp with rain. James had to hold onto Rhea and Rio to prevent being separated in the crowd as they made their way towards the winding road where the carriages stood. They quickly climbed into an empty one and shut the door, to keep the wind out. James' face was cold and he was shivering, he never liked cold weather. There was a knock on the cabin door and Rhea opened it to find Albus, Kenneth and Dianna.

'Hey, could we join you guys? Everywhere else is kind of full.' Albus spoke, his teeth chattering in the cold.

'Sure, come on in.' Rhea moved down her seat, to make space for the three of them as they scuttled in as fast as they could and shut the door. The carriage was now packed with six of them inside. It was comfortable only for four, but since none of them were particularly big, they fit, albeit a little cosily. The carriages began to move and the six of them started up an animated conversation, which only ended when the carriages stopped at the grand patio of Hogwarts castle and they stepped out into the warm, glowing entrance hall.

Albus breathed in the warm air and smiled. He loved Hogwarts, right next to his own home back in London. There was something about the castle that made him feel relaxed, warm and welcome. He had shared his feelings about the castle with his dad once he had got home for Christmas in his first year. He wasn't surprised to find out that his dad felt even more for the great castle. It was, after all, Harry's one true home as a boy.

The group of chattering students made their way up the marble staircase and into the great hall. It was magnificently decorated for the start-of-term feast and the teachers were already seated at the front table. The headmaster, Bjorn Dilwyn smiled at the old students as they filed in and took their seats at the respective house tables. He wore magnificent robes of emerald green, and his shoulder length grey hair was neatly tied into a short ponytail. If anyone had seen Professor Dilwyn outside the school, they wouldn't believe he was the headmaster, because he had the air of sheer youth about him. With the clear aura of a boisterous, young boy gone old, but retained his energy, Professor Dilwyn was highly adored and loved by his students. After about ten minutes of waiting, the headmaster signalled the school to be silent, and the great doors opened to reveal Professor Longbottom leading a group of scared looking first years into the hall. They were all huddled closely together and looked around frightened. James was reminded of his own sorting four years ago and smiled as he thought of what the sorting hat had told him.

'_Ah, I see your mother's wit and your father's courage. A little of your uncle's mischief somewhere in there. Surely, there is no other option for you. You definitely belong in GRYFFINDOR!'_

James remembered grinning at the last word and running down to the Gryffindor table where Victoire and Dominique had encompassed him in a hug. He also remembered that he had sat next to Rio, and they had become friends instantly. The entire Ravenclaw table had started whispering when Rhea got sorted into Gryffindor, her family had always been in Ravenclaw, but when Rhea reached the table, she had looked ecstatic.

James was brought back to reality by the sudden hush as Professor Longbottom placed the sorting hat on its stool. A moment later, the crease of the hat opened like a mouth, and it started to sing:

' _Another year of happiness and joy,_

_Of safety, security and bliss._

_You may say I am all but a hat,_

_Who plays no part in this._

_Yet hear me now and make your choice_

_Hear the story I tell too well._

_Noble was he and eternally loyal,_

_Gryffindor was truly a friend._

_With her keen eye for wit and skill,_

_Ravenclaw knew what was wise._

_A hug, a kiss and kind greetings,_

_Hufflepuff showed she cared._

_Determined to succeed, and a goal in mind,_

_Slytherin remained so sure._

_Now you are free to make your choice,_

_And tell me now, because this hat listens,_

_And listens well.'_

The hat fell silent and the hall erupted with applause. Albus grinned at the song he just heard. The sorting hat surely did listen. He remembered how scared he had been when he was to be sorted. James had taunted him that he might be in Slytherin, and for a sick second he had believed him. He had voiced his fear only to his father, who he trusted more than anyone else in the world. His father had said one of the men he, Albus, was named after was from Slytherin, and he was one of the bravest men his father ever knew. With that in mind, Albus had walked up to the sorting hat, clear about his decision. The sorting hat's voice still rang through his ears, as clear as if it was just happening.

'_You have a determined mind. Your choice is made. Surely you know you'd do well in Slytherin. But I listen; I see your heart lies elsewhere. I see astounding courage and loyalty. Surely you belong in GRYFFINDOR!'_

Albus grinned broadly as he watched the new first years slowly form a line and the first person walked up to sit on the stool. He had never felt so happy, than when he was placed in Gryffindor and James had stood up on his desk to cheer him on. Although his father had told him that one of the bravest men he knew was from Slytherin, Albus felt he did not belong there. Gryffindor was his home and he had always known it.

The sorting went smoothly, and seven new first years joined the Gryffindor table. Rio pounced on the food that appeared magically on the table after and a few moments were spent with just the clatter of knives and forks, before chatter finally broke out. After the feast, James, Rio and Rhea felt sleepy and groggy. It was with half a heart that Rhea got up to guide the new first years to the common room. James and Rio took their time to get up and slowly make their way out of the hall. They stopped to let a few fourth years from Ravenclaw exit before them and James waved at Rose to get her attention. But Rose wasn't looking at him, her head was turned and she looked to her left as she walked. James turned to see whom, or what she was looking at and his stomach gave a nasty flip.

'James? Come on man, you're holding up traffic.' James jumped as Rio dragged him forward by his hand. He had momentarily frozen on the spot. As he walked out of the hall, he felt Rio's eyes on him.

'What's up man? You look disturbed.' Rio was evidently concerned.

'Nothing, just tired, that's all.' James smiled at Rio in an attempt to conceal his feelings, but he could never hide anything from Rio.

'Come on James, you know you can't lie to me. What's bothering you?'

'Well, okay. You know just now in the hall? I saw Rose staring at someone, a guy.'

'Seriously James,' Rio wanted to laugh, 'she's fourteen, if you get worked out over every guy she looks at-'

'She was staring at Malfoy.' James suddenly looked furious, and Rio knew better than to continue talking. They walked up the moving staircases in silence, both their minds racing.

James never liked Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. He knew all about his family and how they detested anything to do with muggles or muggle-borns. James had also heard stories from his uncles about Scorpius's father, Draco and how he had been a downright git when he was at school. He did not know why Rose was looking at him, or perhaps he was just over-reacting. He knew Rose. She would never be interested in someone the entire family detested. Whatever it was, James knew that she knew the family came first. With that thought in mind, he calmed down a little and Rio thought it would be safe enough to start another conversation.

'So, OWL year, do you reckon it's going to be tough?' he asked.

'I certainly hope not. Though aunt Hermione kept warning me about the consequences of leaving my revision too late, over the summer. But uncle Ron thinks she's probably exaggerating.'

'How did Fred and Roxanne do in their OWLs?'

'Fred got five OWLs, and Roxanne got six. Grandma Molly was so proud; she thought it was bit of an achievement for them. They're really smart you know, they just channel their intelligence into a different cause.'

Rio and James laughed. They were excited to find out what Roxanne and Fred had up their sleeves next. As they supplied the Fat Lady with the new password ('Treacle Tart!'), climbed into the portrait hole and took in the familiar surroundings of the Gryffindor common room, a warm fuzzy feeling James associated with sleep came over him and he set off to the dormitory, changed sleepily into pyjamas and fell asleep on his comfortable four poster immediately.


	2. First Day of School

Albus woke up to the sound of rain pattering on the tower windows and he flipped over to see the clock on the side-table. It was six in the morning and Albus paused for a minute to think why he was up this early. He tried going back to sleep, but it was no use. Albus could never go back to sleep once he had woken up. He decided he'd go down to the common room to see if anyone else was up, and put on his slippers. It was then that he noticed that the bed next to his was empty; Kenneth was out of bed. Albus found this very strange. Kenneth was one of the deepest sleepers he knew, and he wouldn't get out of bed if he could help it. Albus made his way downstairs to the common room, only to find it empty. He had heard from James that the house elves clean the castle by night, and he was impressed. He had never seen the Gryffindor common room this tidy before. The cushions were in place and the various pieces of litter that had been on the floor the night before were gone. The wizard's chess set that Hugo had been playing with the night before was on one of the tables; the pieces magically back to their original condition. Kenneth wasn't here, and Albus was very curious as to where his best friend had gone. Kenneth didn't usually go off wandering the castle alone, Albus was usually with him. He felt worried for his best friend, and couldn't help but think Kenneth was hiding something from him. Albus decided he'd engage himself in a game of wizard's chess and sat in front of the chessboard. The pieces immediately came to life and started brandishing their swords and snarling at pieces of the other team. The black king said in a wheezy voice, 'you choose the wrong side son, the white side always loses!' This was followed by an outcry by the white pieces and the pawns looked ready to kill.

As Albus ordered his pieces around the board, his mind wasn't in the game. He absentmindedly sent one of his pawns straight to his death, earning furtive looks from the white pieces. After a few minutes, the portrait hole opened, and Kenneth stepped in. He was drenched, and shivering very badly. He was carrying his broomstick over his shoulder.

'A…Al.' he said feebly as he collapsed in front of the fire, mud splattering everywhere around the spotless common room.

'You've been flying? This early in the morning?' Albus asked.

'Yes.' Kenneth answered curtly, feeling the warmth of the fire on his face. 'I've just been trying out the new moves Louis introduced yesterday.'

'Ken, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself; you didn't talk much on the train yesterday, and now, you've been out flying alone in the rain at six in the morning. What's wrong?'

Kenneth didn't answer him immediately. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth the fire provided, but he knew Albus was persistent. He didn't think it well to test his patience.

'I'm really sorry Al. I've just, not been myself lately. It gets worse when I'm around _her_. It's just, well, I don't know.'

Albus forgave his friend for his incoherence. He walked towards Kenneth and sat next to him by the fire. 'When you say _her_, you mean, Rose?'

Slowly, but surely, Kenneth nodded.

'You like her?' He nodded again. 'And she likes you?' Kenneth stared intently at the fire, and in the smallest voice, he said, 'No.' Albus was confused. 'But how do you know she doesn't? You didn't tell her, did you?'

Kenneth shook his head. 'I wrote to her over the summer. And well, she sort of confessed to me that she liked someone else. I never got the chance to tell her how I felt. It was like a daily correspondence, I really liked writing to her, and judging by her replies, she liked writing to me too. She said she really felt like she could tell me things she couldn't tell anyone else.' Albus shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't upset that Rose and Kenneth had been writing to each other without telling him, but rather, he had a feeling he knew who Rose liked, although he had always believed it to be his imagination when he saw her looking at him.

'Who does she like?' it was more of a whisper. Albus thought he heard it when the word formed in Kenneth's mind.

'Scorpius.' Kenneth looked away, his eyes singeing from the now unbearable heat of the fire. 'But Al,' he continued in a small voice, 'she can never know you found out, or that I told you; she'll hate me forever.'

Albus nodded, his mind racing. Rose knew no one would ever approve of Scorpius; the Potters and Weasleys could never get along with the Malfoys, no matter how hard they tried. Yet, he had noticed her behaviour around Scorpius. All the glances she gave him during lessons had meant something. This explained why Hugo was complaining over the summer that Rose didn't spend as much time with him anymore, and preferred to remain in her bedroom, with the door closed. Aunt Hermione had dismissed this as the typical behaviour of a teenage girl. As much as Albus wanted to assure his best friend that Scorpius and Rose could never get together, he couldn't. He knew Rose was just as determined as her mother. He patted Kenneth awkwardly on the back.

'I'm sorry man.' He said softly. Kenneth managed a weak smile up at Albus. His best friend was clearly torn between supporting him and his cousin.

'It's not your fault Albus, and it's not Rose's either. It's mine. I've just been stupid enough to think that I was ever good enough for her-'

'But, you are!' Albus cut in. He felt sorry for Kenneth.

'Thanks Al. I knew I could always count on you.' Kenneth grinned up at Albus, and for the first time in two days, Albus saw the spark return to Kenneth's eyes.

'Now, let's go get changed. It's nearly seven and I can hear people moving. I don't think they'll be happy if they find out you splattered mud all over the common room.' They walked upstairs to the dormitory, where they both showered and changed into their school robes, before heading out to the great hall for breakfast. It was only around seven fifteen, so the great hall was relatively empty and quiet. But most of the teachers were already eating, some whizzing through the Daily Prophet, and others just staring bleary eyed at their cereal. Albus and Kenneth sat down at the Gryffindor table and Albus helped himself to some fresh buttery croissants. Kenneth opened up the Daily Prophet lying next to the pumpkin juice jug. Slowly, students came down for breakfast, some looking excited on the first day of lessons, whilst some looked like they never wanted to leave their beds back in their dormitories. Albus looked up from his breakfast and saw Rose walk towards him and Kenneth.

'You guys are up early.' She said cheerfully as she sat down beside Albus. 'Anything interesting on the Prophet?' she gestured to Kenneth.

'Oh, erm, no, not really.' He said as he passed her the paper. Albus could tell he was trying to act as normal as he could. Rose smiled at Kenneth as she glanced through the paper, and disappeared for a moment behind it.

'Hey, Vic's in here.' She squealed and opened the paper to the fifth page and showed them Victoire posing for a_ 'Malkina' _advertisement.

'Hey, let me see that.' Came a voice from behind, and they saw Rio standing there, grinning broadly at the paper. Albus stifled a laugh and Rose passed Rio the paper, giggling. He walked off as Rose stood up to leave. 'See you guys later.' She said as she left for the Ravenclaw table. Albus and Kenneth exchanged looks, but neither said anything as the table around them started to fill up.

Further along the table, James was rolling his eyes at Rio.

'Stop drooling man.' He said as Rio stared intently at Victoire's moving figure in the Malkina advert. Rio shrugged him off and continued staring as Rhea sat herself next to him. 'Morning.' She greeted the both of them and dragged some toast towards her.

'I hope our timetables don't stink too badly. Rox told me she nearly fainted when she received hers last year.' James yawned and stretched his arms, earning some interested looks from girls around him. Rhea laughed. 'You stretch your arms just so you can show off your muscles.' She said.

'Yeah, sort of. But don't pretend you don't enjoy it.' James joked back. Rhea rolled her eyes at him. James looked slightly crestfallen. Rio cleared his throat and they looked up to see Professor Longbottom walking down the table, handing out timetables.

'Here you are. It's pretty packed, considering you're fifth year. But you guys should manage, right?' he smiled and handed the three of them their timetables. Rio was the first one to gasp. 'This is madness.' He said, 'We've only got three free periods a week, and seeing as how all the evenings that are free are taken up by quidditch.' He looked down dolefully at his half-eaten cereal and pushed it away. 'I think I've lost my appetite.'

Rhea and James laughed. 'Well at least we're in all our classes together, seeing as we take the same subjects.' James tried to cheer his best friend up. Rio looked slightly happier as he glanced through his timetable again.

'Hey Rhea.' They turned to look at Justin Thomas, the other Gryffindor prefect smiling at them. 'I was just wondering how you'd like to settle the prefects duties. I think we've got pretty varied timetables.' He handed Rhea his timetable and she glanced through it. 'Oh, how about you take Monday and Thursday evenings, and I'll take Tuesday and Wednesday. We only have to do two days a week each, right?' Rhea handed him back his timetable. Justin nodded. 'That sounds great. Well I'll see you guys around then.' He said as he walked off to sit with his friends slightly further down the table. Rhea glanced at the time. 'I think we better start heading down to the greenhouses. Herbology starts in five minutes.' James finished up his last croissant in two mouthfuls and they stood up to leave the hall.

They were amongst the first to reach the greenhouses and the weather was still damp, with angry thunderclouds looming above them. The fifth years huddled together in a small dry patch outside greenhouse three as they waited for Professor Longbottom to arrive.

'Get in, get in.' he said as he flicked his wand and the greenhouse door opened. As they entered, the howling wind and rumbling thunder was silenced, and the thick smell of fertilizer overpowered their noses. The fifth years settled down and Professor Longbottom passed around pots of a long spindly plant, which swayed even though there was no wind.

'Okay fifth years, this year is of utmost importance to every young witch or wizard. Your OWLs will be upon you sooner than you realise, so you should start revising as soon as you can. Many key professions in the wizarding world require knowledge in Herbology. If you are considering a job as a healer you will find that you will need to know your plants in order to come up with antidotes and cures. Aurors are expected to be able to have the basic knowledge to tell one dangerous plant from the other. ' There was murmur of interest from around the class and Professor Longbottom smiled. 'Today we will be extracting sap from the _Jinpuner Bernomgalis_. Its sap is known to have many medicinal properties. Can any one of you tell me which essential potion this sap is used in?' Karina Rogers from Ravenclaw instantly raised her hand. 'Yes Miss Rogers?' Professor Longbottom gestured to her.

'Skelegrow.' She answered.

'Very good, ten points to Ravenclaw. Indeed, the _Jinpuner Bernomgalis_, despite it's frail, spindly appearance has a very strong stem that cannot be broken easily. Hence, the sap is believed to strengthen and mend bones. We will be extracting the sap using syringes, which each of you have been supplied with. Please put on your gloves, undiluted sap can cause rashes to those with sensitive skin. Oh and please be patient, the plant will try to resist the incoming needle, so you'll have to approach it slowly. Get to work.' Professor Longbottom took to walking around the class as each of them put on their gloves and armed themselves with the syringe.

James plant swayed much more than the others and no matter how slowly he approached the stem with the syringe, it would sway away from it. He began to get a little impatient and clicked his tongue. Rhea, who had already collected a vial full of sap, smiled at him and said, 'Here, let me try.' She took the syringe from him and approached the plant slowly. It made to move away, but just as it quivered, Rhea stopped her hand. When the plant stood firm again, Rhea moved her hand inch by inch, and inserted the needle into the stem. She filled the syringe with sap and gave it to James, who was watching the whole process with a frown.

'That plant is biased.' He said as he emptied the sap into the empty vial in front of him.

When the bell rang, Professor Longbottom set them a foot long essay on the properties of Jinpuner sap, and the fifth years looked groggy as they made their way back to the castle, huddled together, fighting against the strong wind.

'A foot long essay? But it's only the first period of the first day! This stinks!' Rio complained as he followed James and Rhea into the warm entrance hall. Rhea smiled sympathetically at him and James referred to his timetable. 'We've got potions next, let's go.' The Ravenclaws moved off towards the second floor for transfiguration while the Gryffindors made their way down to the dungeons for potions. The Slytherins were already waiting outside the classroom when they arrived. Francesca Parkinson laughed as Rhea, James and Rio approached. 'What did you do to your hair Walker?' Rhea smoothened out her blond hair, which had been flustered by the wind and stared back at Francesca. 'I wouldn't bother commenting on others if I had a mop for hair like you did.' James retorted angrily back at Francesca. 'Back off Potter.' Francesco, Francesca's twin brother stared menacingly at James. Before James could retort back, the dungeon door opened and a group of fourth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors stepped out.

'Hey James, Rhea, Rio!' Albus and Kenneth greeted as they walked out. James noticed that Kenneth looked a lot happier since they last met on the train. 'Hey guys!' the three fifth years greeted them back. Professor Bevanda, the potions master shuffled the remaining fourth years out. He had a friendly face, a round tummy and spoke with a strong Italian accent. He was wearing robes of blood red and smiled at the fifth years as they entered the classroom.

'Ah, it is good to see you all back here again. Now as we all know, this year is of extreme importance.' Professor Bevanda spent about ten minutes talking about the importance of potion making and some of the possible careers good potion makers excel in. He then set them the task of brewing the Draught of Peace, which he said comes out most often in the OWLs. Rhea found this a truly daunting task; she had never excelled in potions. 'Here, let me help you,' Rio helped Rhea powder her moonstone. Potions was Rio's best subject, probably owing to the fact that Professor Bevanda rarely set them homework. James smiled at his two best friends. It would be lovely if they'd go out with each other. They looked absolutely wonderful together and he knew they both made up for each other's flaws. His dad had told him all about his uncle Ron and aunt Hermione when they were in school, and he felt that Rhea and Rio were heading in the same direction, although they both remained blatantly clueless.

The fifth years continued working on their potions for another hour, and the dungeon classroom was filled with a light silver mist that made the atmosphere calming. Most of the students had managed to achieve a light silver vapour emerging from their cauldrons. The only ones who were having trouble were Rhea, whose cauldron was emitting bright gold sparks and Francesco, whose potion had coagulated and stuck to the bottom of his cauldron. Professor Bevanda walked over to Rhea and gave her a pitying smile. 'I think you stirred your potion one extra time counter-clockwise Miss Walker. Not to worry, it's a mistake anyone could easily make. Just ensure you read the instructions more carefully next time.' He walked over to the front and addressed the class. 'Okay everyone; we have about ten minutes left. Please fill up the vials in front of you with your potion, label it with your name and leave it on the teacher's desk in front, after which you can leave. Please note that you will have to submit twelve inches of parchment on the uses of moonstone, by Thursday. ' At the collective groan that issued at this news, he smiled. 'I know it's going to be a tough year, but you've got to get pass this to secure your future.' He walked back to his desk and pulled a fresh stack of essays to start marking.

As the fifth years walked out of the dungeon and into the cool corridor lit by torches, Rio and James each put an arm around Rhea, who looked disheartened.

'I'm a complete troll at potions.' She muttered.

'No, you're not. You just forgot to read one line properly, anyone could have done that.' Rio smiled at her and gave her a little squeeze. She looked grateful for his confidence in her. James smiled to himself as they walked up the staircase and into the great hall for lunch.

'I wonder what's for lunch, I'm starving!' Rio said as he slipped into the bench next to Rosina Spinnet. The plates and goblets immediately filled with roast potatoes, beef stew, spaghetti and pumpkin juice. Rio dug in, only pausing to take a drag of pumpkin juice. Rosina looked at Rio with a mixture of aw and disgust.

'You continue eating like that and your broom won't be able to lift you anymore.' She joked. Rio responded with a grunt and continued chomping his way through his potatoes. 'Speaking of brooms, Louis mentioned he wanted a meeting later at five in the common room. He says he needs to talk to the team about practise schedules.' Rosina told James and Rio.

'Hey James!' Lily Potter sat herself next to her brother and Hugo sat himself next to Rio while their friends, Miranda Raines, Jules Fawning and Jessica Liew sat around them. 'Lils!' James felt like he hadn't seen his baby sister in forever and gave her a one-armed hug. 'I haven't seen you since we left the platform yesterday. How has your day been?'

'Oh it's been alright. We've had Transfiguration and Herbology so far. Professor Longbottom taught us how to replant mandrakes.' She said as she pulled a plate towards her and ladled herself some stew.

'Hugo, what's up with you? You're not as chirpy as you usually are.' James looked over at his cousin with concern. Hugo looked up from his plate. 'It's Rose!' he said, with a pause. 'She doesn't even talk to me anymore. She hasn't spoken to me properly since summer.'

'Do you know why?' James asked, concern over his cousins growing.

'Well,' Hugo looked a little embarrassed. 'She hasn't been speaking to me properly since dad and I made fun of Slytherins over dinner once during summer. She sort of hushed up and dad says she's even been distant to him.' Hugo swallowed a piece of potato. 'Mum reckons we deserve it for being rude to people who don't deserve it. Mum's always taking her side.'

James smiled at his cousin, but he was deep in thought. Maybe this wasn't just about being rude to people. He turned to look at Rose at the Ravenclaw table. She was piling food into her plate. He turned back, and was confused. Or perhaps he was just thinking too much.

'Hey James, Hugo! Hey Lils!' Albus stopped to ruffle Lily's hair before walking along to sit further down the table with some fellow fourth years.

Albus slid himself between Dianna and Kenneth. The fourth years around them were discussing the dates of the next Hogsmeade visit. Only mildly interested in the conversation, Albus piled some potatoes and spaghetti on his plate, and his eyes fell on Rose, who was sitting two tables away with her usual group of friends. She seemed to be playing with her food. She looked up and turned towards the entrance, she seemed to be looking for someone to enter. He didn't have to guess when he turned to look at the entrance. He saw Scorpius Malfoy, walking in with his usual gang of friends, but was it his imagination, or he looked a little, withered. His blond hair was sleekly pulled back as it usually was, but his usual smug look was gone. He actually looked a little woebegone. He followed his friends to the Slytherin table and sat down. Albus knew Rose was following Scorpius's actions just as intently as he was. Scorpius pulled an empty plate towards him and took a sip of pumpkin juice. He then stared at the plate and stood up. His friends looked up at him, apparently surprised by his actions. He mumbled something to them and Albus saw him distinctly look in the direction of Rose as he made his way out of the hall. Albus turned to Rose, whose eyes had flown back to her plate now, and she was frowning. After a few minutes, Rose excused herself from her friends and made her way out of the hall alone; her plate of food barely touched.

'Al? Al? Why aren't you eating?' Dianna asked as she pointed at Albus's plate. He had barely eaten one potato. 'Oh, erm.' He said as he stuffed a small potato into his mouth. Beside him, Kenneth had gone oddly quiet. Albus realised that he hadn't been the only who had been watching Scorpius and Rose.

After lunch, the fifth years left for Defence Against the Dark Arts, while the fourth years left for Transfiguration. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws marched into the open classroom to find Professor Weatherborn standing at the front of the classroom. Professor Weatherborn was a strict witch, who didn't accept nonsense in her class. She was the head of Ravenclaw house and the only two people who dared to drive her up the wall were Fred and Roxanne. His father had often told Albus that Professor Weatherborn was much too like her predecessor who had taught him.

Professor Weatherborn started the class by handing out mice to each of the students. Some of the girls squealed and she got fired up instantly. 'Well, if you're too scared to get near a pathetic little mouse Miss Ignatio, you are free to leave.' The class was silenced at once.

'Okay. Today we shall be doing some complicated transfiguration. As fourth years, this would be the first time you have done mammal transfiguration. This will be more difficult than the invertebrates you have transfigured previously. You will be attempting to transfigure your mice into goblets. However, since it is your first attempt, I do not expect anyone to succeed. The person who is furthest along at the end of class however, will be awarded with ten points for your house. You can find the method on page fifteen of your books. Please begin.'

It was tedious work. Albus's mice kept trying to scuttle off and escape, so he had to keep it pinned down with one hand while referring to his book. He held his Birch wand with his right hand and flicked it right while muttering the incantation. The mouse stared at him with its beady eyes, but hadn't changed one bit. Beside him, Kenneth was having no better luck. He had pinned his mouse down the same way as Albus and was fiercely brandishing his wand at it. Blue sparks shot out of his wand and hit the mouse on its tail, which turned a violent shade of purple. Albus and Kenneth laughed and Professor Weatherborn shot them a nasty look before turning to examine a pair of Ravenclaws.

Two benches in front of them, Rose had somehow changed her mouse into a hairy goblet with a tail. At the end of the lesson, neither of Albus or Kenneth's mice were goblets, although Albus's one was bald with shiny silver skin, and Kenneth's one had turned gold. Rose's mouse however, had successfully become a goblet, and Professor Weatherborn demonstrated how perfect it was by pouring herself some pumpkin juice and drinking it out of the goblet. Rose earned ten points for Ravenclaw and the fourth years streamed out of the classroom.

'Well, at least she didn't set us any homework.' Kenneth exhaled as they made their way back to the common room.

'Yeah.' Albus looked out the castle windows. The sky was overcast, and the grounds were soaked, although it had stopped raining. The wind was picking up and the black lake seemed to have flooded a little over its banks. There was no one outside on the grounds; everyone seemed to be taking refuge inside the warm, bright castle.

Back at the common room, most of the younger students were back. Their classes ended earlier than the older ones. Albus and Kenneth sat down to play a game of Wizards Chess as the fifth years entered the common room, looking extremely sour.

'We've got homework from every class we had today! This is ridiculous.' Rio swore loudly as he kicked aside a chair. Rhea and James had given up trying to console him. They were pretty stressed out by the amount of work they had to do too. 'There's no way I'm starting straight away.' Rio said as he sank into the couch by the fire. James sat down next to him and pulled out some blank parchment and ink. 'Don't tell me you're already starting?' Rio asked.

'No, I'm not. I promised my mum I'd write to her and tell her how everyone's doing on the first day back. She's particularly concerned about Lily, since she's so young and all.' James dipped his quill into ink and began writing to his mother. Rhea got out the same book she had been reading on the train, flipped to the marked page and disappeared behind it. Rio closed his eyes and felt himself slowly nod off. The portrait hole opened and Lily and Hugo stepped in. Hugo looked distraught and Lily was consoling him with one arm around his shoulders. James walked over to them, concern etched all over his face.

'Hey Hugo, what's the matter?' he asked.

Hugo didn't answer but stared at the floor. He wasn't crying, but he looked like he would any second. Lily answered James.

'It's Rose. She sort of screamed at him when he went over to say hello.'

James didn't understand. Rose and Hugo had always been loving siblings. Hugo looked up and James saw tears build up in his blue eyes. James pulled Hugo into a hug.

'She's probably just stressed out or something.' James consoled him.

'Who's stressed out? What happened?' Fred and Roxanne had entered the common room and were looking over at James and Hugo.

'Hugo my man, what's up?' Fred reached over a patted Hugo's shoulder. This time Hugo answered the question.

'Rose's being horrible to me. I went over after class to say sorry, hoping she'd talk to me properly, and she shouted at me to go away. She said she didn't want to talk to me, and stormed off into her common room.' Tears were falling in earnest from Hugo's big blue eyes and Fred tilted his head to one side, staring at his cousin.

'Aw Hugo, James is right, she's probably just stressed out.' Roxanne coaxed Hugo and pulled him into a hug. Fred looked at James and they shared a concerned look, both eager to find out and solve whatever problems were facing their cousin.

'Well, I think we need to cheer our little cousin up a little, what do you say Rox?' Fred turned to his sister, who let Hugo go and looked up. Two identical grins spread across their faces.

'Hey Hugo, how would you like to see some fireworks?' Roxanne asked Hugo as Fred pulled out a small red box from his bag.

'We've been working on our dad's designs. We got this from the spare stock.' Fred explained to James as he tapped the box once with his wand.

The box started rattling and Fred let go of it. It remained floating in the air, the rattling getting stronger and stronger.

'I think we better stand back,' Fred said and the cousins stepped back from the red box, which emitted sparks from the rim. 'Three, two, one.'

The red box burst open and out came a huge three-headed dog, composed entirely out of fire and sparks. It bared its three sets of teeth at the cousins and sprang out of the box, running around the room in the air. Behind it, trailed hundreds of fireworks, of all shapes and sizes. Catherine wheels, which grew in size and changed colour with every revolution, giant, spinning sparkles that chased after people as they hid for cover under chairs and tables. It was a magnificent sight. Once the three-headed dog had completed one round around the circular common room, it vanished and music started playing from the very heart of the fireworks. They heard the latest songs by Donavan Tremlett and Dominique Weasley and everyone was laughing and cheering. Fred and Roxanne stood in the centre of the common room, bowing to the applause that now sounded in earnest. The music faded off after a while, and Hugo was thoroughly cheered up. He beamed up at his cousins. Albus was thoroughly amused by his cousins' antics and he went over to Fred.

'That was amazing! What did you guys do to spruce up Uncle's George's fireworks?' he asked.

'Now, now little cousin, we're not going to give the secret away. Rox and I are planning to show this to dad. We only made two sets and we tried out one today. I must say they're more than satisfactory. Dad is going to be thrilled when we show him. Not sure about mum though.' Fred grimaced.

'Where'd you get the giant three-headed dog idea from Rox?' Hugo asked Roxanne and she smiled. 'Your dad, Hugo. The other day he told us about his adventures when he was in his first year at Hogwarts, and he mentioned some three-headed dog called Fluffy. We just thought it'd be cool to add it in, you know?' Roxanne bent down to face Hugo. 'You feeling better champ?' Hugo smiled at her. He could always count on his cousins to cheer him up when he felt down.


End file.
